Interviewer:
And is it so? I understand that you had this deal with Chess where you would actually be doing songs with the Dells. Did you then adapt those songs when that deal fell through for Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes?
Gamble:
No, we never, uh, at that time did not intend to -- I never thought that Teddy Pendergrass and Harold Melvin sounded like the Dells. I think the Dells had their own sound and the Blue Notes had their own sound. Because, see, the Blue Notes was Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes. Harold Melvin was a key role, had a key role in that group. I mean, Teddy had a great sound, but if you notice in a lot of those records Harold Melvin also too was instrumental. And uh, I wouldn't think that, uh, that the Blue Notes sounded like the Dells at all. Harold Melvin had an entirely different sound altogether.
Huff:
A crooner.
Gamble:
Yeah. And they had Sharon Paige in the group, you know, I mean, so it was two different types of groups, although both groups are excellent.
Huff:
His stage presence was unique too, because Harold had those guys doing some very unique choreography which caught a lot of people's eye, as them being entertainers. I used to love to watch them.
Gamble:
Yeah, they were great. Top hats and canes. Like a Las Vegas act like in, in, in the community, you know? They really put on a real first class show, the Blue Notes. And so the hit records just enhanced everything that they were doing.
Interviewer:
In your sound how important was Joe Tarsia to your sound?
Huff:
Very.
Gamble:
Joe Tarsia was the technician who helped us do one of the most important things that there is to do, is to get the best fidelity out of our records. So you have, that's why I say it took a team. It took teamwork to make Philly International what it was. It took great studios, great musicians, great artists, great distribution, great promotion people, everything. So Joe Tarsia worked, he worked almost as hard as we did. Almost. Maybe even harder.
Huff:
He hung in there.
Gamble:
Yeah, he hung in there.
Huff:
All hours.
Gamble:
I just said almost so that Joe would get a kick out of it. But um --
Huff:
Working seven days a week.
Gamble:
But he worked hard and made sure that we had the best sound that there was.
Huff:
Around the clock really.
Gamble:
And he worked with us because we were all experimenting. We were all experimenting so he was cooperative.
Gamble:
Everybody was cooperative with each other.
Gamble:
And there was a lot of pressure, a lot of, a lot of pressure in trying to put that music together. And uh, we were fortunate enough to be able to put it all together.
Huff:
Well, you know, it's, uh, it's different when you really love something that you do. and you, uh, you have a career doing it, that's a blessing, to me. To do that, I mean, I think, uh, we dealt with all the stress and the pressures of becoming successful, but the love for the music helped us deal with all of that. We used to spend hours and hours and hours in this room. Eating sandwiches. And uh, we wasn't thinking about that. You know, um, we was just making records. From Gamble's office to this studio was this, this office was where we wrote most of the songs, because that's where the piano was. It was only a few steps from his office into this room so it wasn't that far to go to continue on the magic. So um, the music, the love, the love of the music helped us deal with all the stress and everything that goes with it.
Interviewer:
What about Don Renaldo.
Gamble:
Don Renaldo was very, very important, because he was like the leader of the orchestra. And he kept everybody together. He made sure that all the musicians were taken care of, and um, that's a lot of musicians to take care of. And some of the best musicians in this city. So these were professional people and Don Renaldo was, he was the leader of the band. He kept everything together. We could depend on Don Renaldo. And he was in our corner 100 percent. And, uh, that was that. Don Renaldo was with us all the way.
Interviewer:
The MFSB orchestra, that was an unusual mixture of folks.
Huff:
It was.
Gamble:
All kinds of people.
Huff:
The MFSB orchestra had a combination of all kinds of different people. And age.
Gamble:
Yeah, and age. The age span was like --
Huff:
Most of the violin players were like --
Gamble:
Oh, they were retired musicians, you know, in their 70s, some of them. Some of the musicians, the guitar players were teenagers, young guys. You had all different kinds of ethnic backgrounds. So the music really pulled everybody together.
Huff:
Yeah, that's why you named it that.
Gamble:
Yeah, mother, father, sister, brother.
Huff:
But you know what I noticed too? Like, most of the violin players were like, you know, elderly musicians that's been around, that have played with the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra too. But when they, when they started playing, when we started booking violin players for our songs, this was a new experience for them, to even attempt to play this kind of music. Because they were rooted in classical music, but when they started playing in the MFSB orchestra that opened up their heads as far as what music is about, when they started playing on those records, and they were playing on some of the best records that I've ever heard. String players play on a pop record. So they got a kick out of that, playing that kind of music, after they'd play some classical, and they'll come over here in 309 and get funky. [LAUGHS]
Gamble:
And especially when they say the music go number one on the charts, then they really felt like they were part of it. And they did play a big part of it. Because we had the best string section.
Huff:
And we started using them all the time.
Gamble:
And the horns too.
Huff:
The horns too.
Gamble:
Horns, strings, and rhythm. A great rhythm section. And uh, we had a full orchestra.
Huff:
Where most record companies was recording with the rhythm section we had the orchestra, which made us more powerful.
Interviewer:
That more powerful sound, that seems to fit perfectly with FM. Were you actually recording listening for FM, and AM in a limited sense.
Gamble:
Yeah, AM was going out, during the time we were starting to really make, this was around late '60s, early '70s, that's when FM started to really emerge. And stereo music was, because music up until that point was mono, everything was mono. And so our music was basically recorded with stereo fidelity in mind, and that was a big difference than cutting, thinking mono. Because you could separation, stereo means that you could separate, put strings on this side and put horns on this side, and then you have a lot of, a lot of different things you could play around with. And so I think the orchestra did lend to the fidelity of our music. And if you listen to it today you really hear the fidelity of our records.
Huff:
And the arrangements too. The arrangements on those records. We had, we had, we had guys around us that new how to voice them horns and write them string parts where it would just drive a string player crazy because he probably didn't figure that he had the feeling to play this kind of stuff.
Gamble:
They complemented our songs, all the arrangements. They complemented the artists in those songs.
Huff:
That's why you heard all that energy.
Interviewer:
How about Thom Bell.
Huff:
Great. Thom Bell was great.
Interviewer:
What was unique about his sound?
Huff:
His style I guess.
Gamble:
Yeah, him and Linda, him and Linda Creed, Tommy Bell and Linda Creed, they had, uh, they had their own style of writing. And I thought that their style was, well, was good, was a little more pop, and in their own way, they had their own messages that they were trying to relate. "People Make The World Go Around" is a great song. Tommy was a good arranger, a great arranger. I think that, uh, the Spinners, the Stylistics, Dionne Warwick, Johnny Mathis, he did a lot of great work.
Huff:
Yeah, and he swings.
Gamble:
And he worked with us also too. You know, we all worked together.
Interviewer:
He seemed to be very attracted to that high pitched voice.
Huff:
The tenors.
Gamble:
Yeah, he liked that. But he had a high pitched voice himself.
Huff:
Tommy worked wonders with the tenors starting with the Delfonics.
Gamble:
Delfonics.
Huff:
Pugee's one of the best tenors, singers.
Gamble:
Then the Stylistics, Russell's got an excellent voice, tenor. So Tommy was great with tenors. He's a tenor himself, Tommy.
Huff:
Thom used to sing background --
Gamble:
We did background on a few records. Uh, the Stylistics, we did on, uh, a couple of those songs, and uh, Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes. "If You Don't Know Me By Now", we did the background on that. Joe Simon. "Drowning In the Sea of Love." Bunny Siegler sang with us. And Archie Bell. Many of our records, we used to do that background on them.
Huff:
I'd say, you can't hear your note, huh, okay.
Gamble:
That was a lot of fun to do those backgrounds on those records.
Interviewer:
Were you sort of filling in for folks who weren't quite there yet?
Huff:
Yeah.
Gamble:
Well, we pretty much knew how we wanted it to sound. So, uh, we, um, we, you know, we, we did the background and it turned out good, especially like going to records like "If You Don't Know Me By Now", that background was part of what helped that record be what it is. So, um ... it's good.
Interviewer:
I understand that a lot of producers work, they sort of punch in the part. But I understand that you liked the full performance. You didn't fix it here and fix it there.
Gamble:
Well, we like to get a full performance on an artist when we could. And um, when we couldn't, you know, we'd, you know, we'd play around with it and come up with the best performance possible. We always liked for the artist to sound great. So we didn't punch in too much, you know? Because you get a better feel if it's like a performance. We wanted a performance and so that's what we were really trying to shoot for in all our sessions.
Huff:
Well, the practice, those practice sessions were important. We would rehearse the group or singer really good before they would attempt to come in the studio. There would be extensive rehearsals. I mean we would rehearse a lot. And so when they would come into the studio they would know that song. That's what we demanded really.